Mick Colageo — At the Garden: Survival of the deepest

BOSTON — Kevan Miller accomplished something on Monday that few ever do in the game of hockey. He got the better of Dustin Brown.

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By MICK COLAGEO

southcoasttoday.com

By MICK COLAGEO

Posted Jan. 21, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By MICK COLAGEO

Posted Jan. 21, 2014 at 12:01 AM

KID FRIENDLY

The Bruins had four rookie NHLers on defense Monday vs. the L.A. Kings. Here's how Boston defensemen performed terms of goals, assists, points, plus-minus, penalty minutes and minutes played:* ...

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KID FRIENDLY

The Bruins had four rookie NHLers on defense Monday vs. the L.A. Kings. Here's how Boston defensemen performed terms of goals, assists, points, plus-minus, penalty minutes and minutes played:

* Matt Bartkowski: 0-0-0, -1, 2 PIM, 22:58

Johnny Boychuk, 0-0-0, +1, 2 PIM, 22:11

Zdeno Chara, 0-0-0, +1, 0 PIM, 25:17

* Torey Krug: 1-0-1, +1, 0 PIM, 17:19

* Kevan Miller: 0-0-0, even, 0 PIM, 19:05

* Zach Trotman: 0-0-0, even, 0 PIM, 13:19

* NHL rookie

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BOSTON — Kevan Miller accomplished something on Monday that few ever do in the game of hockey. He got the better of Dustin Brown.

With 1:38 remaining in the third period of a one-goal game against the Los Angeles Kings, the Bruins rookie and the L.A. captain went after a loose puck spinning at the Zamboni door.

Many times on plays like this one, Brown has come up with the puck or in some physical way punished his opponent for getting there first. In the second period, Miller had delivered a big hit on Brown in the neutral zone near the penalty box but did not escape the collision without also landing on his back.

It's a skill that chippy players tend to be crafty at. They hit hard and they're hard to hit.

So, up a goal with seconds ticking away and the Kings desperately seeking a chance to tie the score, it was crucial that Miller not take himself out of this play.

The baseline rule in hockey is you cannot bodycheck an opponent if he does not have the puck — that's interference. But gray area comes into play when the puck is contestable and in no one's possession.

As the two went for this one, Miller surprised Brown with a marginally preemptive strike, knocking his opponent to the ice and denying him the opportunity to take the Boston defenseman with him out of the play. The Bruins got the puck out of the defensive zone and, a minute and a half later, "Dirty Water" began to play over the TD Garden sound system. They had hung on for a 3-2 victory, their second in three games.

"You have to kind of wait until he's lunging. He was lunging right as he was going to get it. You (hit) too early, you get a penalty. You go too late, you end up behind him," said Miller, who made good use of his 19:05 of ice time and the quality minutes he has been playing against opponents' top lines in the absence of regulars. "Yeah, when you get guys out of the lineup like Seids (Dennis Seidenberg) and (Dougie) Hamilton, more responsibility falls on the guys in the lineup and it is obviously a confidence booster."

Miller's overall play, along with Torey Krug's power-play goal, was overshadowed by another big game for the suddenly hot Brad Marchand, whose short-hander in the first period and game-winner in the third made it six goals in his last four games.

But what Boston's suddenly young defense accomplished on Monday was equally significant if not more so.

After a day-to-day leg injury sustained Sunday in Chicago added Adam McQuaid's name to an injury list that includes top-four regulars Seidenberg (knee surgery out for the season) and Hamilton (concussion), the Bruins played their second game in as many days against one of the top teams in the league with four first-year NHLers on their blue line: Miller, Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Zach Trotman.

"I think I said before the game, we've got four guys on the back end that are in their first year," said Bruins coach Claude Julien when asked about Miller's play in Monday's win. "He's pretty big, he's pretty physical ... he was really solid for us ... big body, threw some heavy checks and was a big factor in our win (Monday) because, again, we're a little young back there."

Another young defenseman developed in the minors stepping up with a major contribution to a victory against an NHL elite.

The whole 2013-14 season has been like this, and after the preview of organizational depth displayed last spring during Boston's five-game series win over the New York Rangers, regular-season conquests should not seem like any big deal. But that 2013 playoff team could look forward to the returns of Seidenberg and Andrew Ference.

This one cannot, and the injuries to the defense never seem to stop.

Assuming that Hamilton and McQuaid come back healthy, Miller's steady play makes the Bruins legitimately four deep where they only need three right-shot defensemen.

It's on the left side where some serious testing has begun in earnest.

Matt Bartkowski's 22:58 of ice time was only exceeded on the team by captain Zdeno Chara's 25:17. Bartkowski was on the ice for the second-to-last shift of the game, helping Boston protect its lead.

One of hockey's more explosive skaters, Bartkowski can succeed in the NHL if his game stays uncomplicated.

"I think in the last seven games I've really started to play my game," he said after the win. "Once I start thinking, my feet stop moving and all hell breaks loose so it's just a lot better whenever I just take the first option."

In the course of the regular season, a strong team like the Bruins enjoys the luxury of developing a player like Bartkowski. The playoffs are less forgiving.

With power-play quarterback Torey Krug a perfect fit on the third pairing, it remains difficult to imagine Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli leaving that top-four spot on the left behind Chara in the hands of a developing defenseman. Especially if a stalwart like Ottawa veteran Chris Phillips is on the table.

The prices will be high at the March 5 deadline, but so are the stakes.

Mick Colageo covers hockey for The Standard-Times. Contact him at mcolageo@s-t.com, visit Rink Rap at blogs.southcoasttoday.com/bruins and follow on Twitter @Mick Colageo.